Bringing a Feral Cat to C-SNIP

(unhandleable outdoor cats)

C-SNIP offers TNR (Trap Neuter Return) Services: ​

​​​​​​C-SNIP will not be accepting feral cats on Wednesday, November 21st or Thursday, November 22nd due to Thanksgiving.

C-SNIP will be closed for feral cat intake from Monday, December 24th, 2018 through Tuesday, January 1st, 2019. We will resume feral intake on Wednesday, January 2nd as normal. Please do not set your traps during these dates.

Limit of 2 feral cats per family, per day, without prior C-SNIP approval.

A surgical fee of $15 per cat includes:

Ear tipping

1- year Rabies vaccine (if old enough)

Full anesthesia

Spay/Neuter procedure

Lasting injected pain medication

Feral cats are REQUIRED to arrive in a live trap. They will be kept at the clinic overnight for recovery from the anesthesia and surgery. They will be returned to the trapper in the same trap for release at 7:45 am the following morning. Pick up the morning after surgery should be followed by immediate return to the trap site and release of the feral cat. Please call 616-455-8220 with questions. Trap lending is available for a refundable deposit of $50.

Thank you for your commitment to spay/neuter and the lives of feral cats.

*This reduced rate is made possible by generous grant funding.

Feral FAQs

​​​​​​Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a non-lethal, three-step method to reduce the number of feral and stray cats both immediately and in the long term.

Step 1 – Trap: Feral or stray cats are trapped using a safe, humane, live trap.

Step 2 – Neuter: Trapped cats are spayed/neutered by a veterinarian.

Step 3 – Return: Spayed/Neutered cats are returned to their home.

A feral cat is a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. They are fearful of people and survive on their own outdoors. A feral cat is not likely to ever become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors. They may or may not have a caregiver.

An eartip is where the tip of the cat's left ear is removed in a straight line. Eartipping is an effective and universally accepted method to identify a spayed or neutered community cat. Eartipping is the preferred method to identify spayed or neutered and vaccinated community cats, because it is difficult to get close to them and therefore the identification must be visible from a distance.

​​​​​​Feral cats MUST come in full-sized live traps for the safety of the cat and our staff. Feral cats are fearful and dangerous to handle. They are anesthetized and recovered in the trap to limit handling and stress on the animal.

​​​​​A habitat will support a population of a certain size. No matter how many animals are removed, if the resources remain, the population will eventually recover. With feral cats, once the cats have been spayed/neutered and returned to their colony, they will prevent new cats from moving into their territory. If cats are permanently relocated, as the resources remain, it is only a matter of time before new cats move into the area.